Brotherly Love
by Theaphelia
Summary: Sword of Mana fic. Everyone was little once. Even dictators and aristocrats have to start somewhere. But where, exactly? Contains sticks and stones and angry parents!


Here's my first Sword of Mana fic. I hope you enjoy it! It's lame, I know, but it was inspired by my cousin, who does this kind of stuff all the time.

* * *

A curious, five-year-old Stroud leaned over the stone bridge of Granz castle, looking down into the flowing water below. 

This was the first time he had been allowed to go outside all by himself. Well, not exactly by himself. His older brother, the seven-year-old Gurnda, was next to him, keeping a careful eye on him.

"Don't lean over that bridge too far, pipsqueak," said Gurnda, crossing his arms. "I don't want to go fishing you out of the river."

"I'm not a pipsqueak!" Stroud cried angrily. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

"You shouldn't even be that close to the side of the bridge," Gurnda added. "You know how pappa gets when we get too close."

"Well, he's not out here, so he won't find out."

"He will if I tell him."

"You know what Mommy says about tattle-tales! Do you want to be a mean ol' tattle-tale?"

Gurnda rolled his eyes and joined Stroud in watching the river make its way beneath the bridge. "It's pretty, isn't it?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," Stroud replied, looking into the water as the sunlight bounced off the waves. "Hey! Let's throw rocks down there!"

"Stroud, I don't think that's a good idea. What if we fall—"

"Are you scared, Gurnda? Are you scared of throwing rocks into the river?"

"I'm not scared!" Gurnda protested loudly, "but we could get in trouble—"

Stroud stuck his thumbs in his ears and wiggled his fingers tauntingly. "Scaredy-rabite! Scaredy-rabite! Neh-neh neh—"

"Shut up, pipsqueak, or I'll throw YOU down there!"

Gurnda lunged at Stroud, trying to grab his shirt. Stroud squealed and ran behind a nearby tree, picking up a big stick to defend himself.

"I'll whack you with my sword if you attack me again!"

"And I'll tell pappa if you whack me!"

Stroud pouted at Gurnda. "You always ruin my fun." He dragged the stick to the bridge and tossed it off. It made a barely audible splash as it hit the water below.

"I still don't think throwing rocks is a good idea," Gurnda said, watching the stick get carried away by the current. "What if pappa catches us?"

"Come _on_, Gurnda, let's throw some rocks. _Pleeeaaase?_"

Gurnda sighed and looked at his whining kid brother. "Fine. But if you fall off the bridge—"

"Yay!" Stroud cried, running into the nearby woods to find some stones. Gurnda chased after him, not wanting to lose his brother. Stroud kneeled down and picked up several medium-sized rocks, handing a few to Gurnda.

"Come on, let's go throw them off!" Stroud ran back towards the castle, and Gurnda ran after him.

Stroud laid the rocks down on the edge of the bridge, and Gurnda placed his on top of Stroud's. Stroud looked at the pile with a big grin and picked one up.

"I bet I can throw them farther than you can!" Stroud challenged.

"You can not! I'm older than you are!"

"We'll see."

Gurnda picked one of the rocks up from the pile. "You're on, pipsqueak."

They threw their rocks at the same time. The two boys watched them to see whose rock went farthest. Finally, they heard two splashes below. The splash from Stroud's rock was farther away.

"Ha-ha! I threw mine farther than you did!" Stroud teased.

"You did not! They went the same distance!" Gurnda protested.

"They did not!"

"The wind blew yours!"

"_What _wind, Gurnda?"

"Then the water carried mine away!"

"Please. You lost, Gurnda, and I won! _I won_! Neh-neh!" Stroud did a little dance over the pile of rocks. "I am the king of rock-throwers!"

"We still have more rocks to throw, and I guarantee I can beat you!" Gurnda growled.

"I bet you can't!"

"Are you backing down, then?"

"Nuh-uh!" Stroud cried, and picked up a rock from his pile. Gurnda snatched one up and threw it, not bothering to wait for Stroud.

"That's not fair!" Stroud cried, throwing the small rock as hard as he could. He saw Gurnda's rock splash below. A second later, Stroud's landed, ahead of Gurnda's.

"I WON AGAIN!"

"You're just lucky," Gurnda said.

"Nuh-uh! It's because I'm learning about swords and stuff while you learn that silly girly magic stuff."

"It's NOT girly!"

"Yes, it is, just like your hair!"

"My hair is not girly!" Gurnda snapped. "Mamma says that tying my hair back makes me look charming."

"It makes you look like a girl!" Stroud argued.

"I'm NOT girly!"

"You can't throw rocks as far as me!"

"How's _this _for your stupid rocks?" Gurnda screamed, pushing half of the pile over the side of the bridge.

"HEY! We were gonna throw them!"

"Well, we're not anymore, pipsqueak, because you're being unfair!"

"I am not! I won fairly!"

"You did not! I can beat you this time!" Gurnda picked up one of the few remaining rocks and threw it over the side. Stroud followed suit, and won again.

"Ha ha! I won again, girly-boy!"

"Call me that again and I'll—"

"Girly-boy, girly-boy!"

"Well, you have grass on your head, so HA!"

"You have a girly ponytail, so HA!"

"At least I look charming, unlike you, with your mud-covered butt!"

"My butt is very clean today!" Stroud protested.

"I'll change that!" Gurnda charged at Stroud, who ran towards the forest again. Gurnda finally caught up with his brother and pushed him down into the dirt.

"Owwww! Gurnda, you big meanie!"

"How's that for clean? Huh, grasshead?"

Stroud whined angrily. "That hurt, you big bully!"

"Oh, you poor thing," Gurnda said sarcastically.

Stroud stood up angrily and grabbed another stick and swung it at Gurnda. Gurnda quickly found another stick and brandished it to defend himself.

Stroud swung his stick, and it connected with Gurnda's with a loud THWACK! "Sissy-boy!"

"Cheater!" cried Gurnda, pushing his stick against Stroud's, trying to bend it down.

"Weakling!"

"Moss-hair!"

"Yuck-face!"

"Barf-brains!"

Stroud swung his stick again, and it connected violently with the side of Gurnda's face, causing his head to snap back. "Take that!"

"Owwwww-uh!" Gurnda rubbed the side of his face and neck, then looked at his hand and started crying. "You made my face bleed! I'm telling pappa!"

Gurnda ran off towards the castle, crying loudly and calling for his father.

-

Up in their bedroom, Lord Granz sat by Medusa's bedside, stroking her hair tenderly.

"My love," he said softly, "I'm sure I can convice Bogard to use Mana power to heal your sickness."

"I hope so, Granz," said Medusa weakly. "I would hate to have to give up my memories of you. It's just—" she paused, hearing a loud scream outside. "Are those boys fighting again?"

Granz sighed angrily and stood up. "I'll be right back. I'll go take care of them." He stalked toward the door.

"Honey, it's fine, really—" but it was useless. Granz was dead-set on keeping the castle free of disturbing noise.

Medusa sighed and smiled amusedly. The truth was, she liked hearing her sons bicker and battle with each other outside the castle. It comforted her. It meant they were healthy...

-

"No, wait! I'm sorry, Gurnda! I didn't mean to make you bleed!" Stroud dropped his stick and ran after Gurnda as fast as he could."Don't tell on me, _pleeeaaase_!"

As he approached the entrance to the castle, a very angry Lord Granz stormed out of the doors and glared at the two boys.

"_What_ is going on out here? Your mother is sick! She needs her rest! How do you expect her to get any better with you two running amok down here and yelling at each other?"

The two boys pointed at each other and cried simultaneously, "He started it!"

"I don't care which one of you started it, you both—Gurnda, what on earth happened to your face?"

"He hit me with a stick!" cried Gurnda, pointing at Stroud angrily.

"He was calling me names!" yelled Stroud.

"He cheated when we were throwing rocks!"

"He was being a sore loser!"

"BOTH OF YOU, KNOCK IT OFF!" their father roared. Both boys fell silent immediately.

"Sorry, daddy," said Stroud quietly.

"We didn't mean to upset mamma," Gurnda added.

"She's not upset, but she's very ill. I don't expect you to understand, but _please,_ for the sake of your mother, keep the noise level down!"

"We'll try," Stroud said timidly.

"I think it's time for you two to come inside for now."

"Noooo!" Stroud whined.

"Pappa, we don't _want_ to!"

"Please, we'll try to be quiet, daddy!"

"Yeah!"

Lord Granz considered for a moment, then made his decision. "Very well. ONE more chance. And you are to stay in the back of the castle, I don't like you this close to the bridge. If I hear any more noise from you two, it's inside for the rest of the day. Understand?"

"Yes, pappa," Gurnda answered. Stroud nodded his agreement.

"I'm going back inside. I don't expect to hear any more nonsense from you two while I'm tending to your mother. Now go!"

The two boys ran to the back of the castle, happy to be free of punishment. Granz went back inside, secretly smiling at the two boys' innocence.

-

Stroud ran around the castle until he got to the back, where a creek flowed through the center of the land.

"We can throw more rocks here," said Stroud.

"No. No more rock throwing. I'm sick of it." Gurnda sat at the edge of the creek, staring at the flowing water. Suddenly, he saw something growing next to him. It was a big, purple flower. He looked at it and smiled.

_Mamma would like that,_ he thought. He plucked it out of the ground and twirled it in his hands.

"You're no fun, Gurnda," Stroud whined, sitting next to his brother. "Playing with silly _girl flowers_. Hey, I know! Let's make a sandcastle!"

"With what? There's no sand here."

Stroud looked around. Indeed, there was no sand; but there was plenty of silt.

"So, we'll make a mudcastle. I'll get a bucket!"

Stroud ran to their play-area, where all of their outdoor toys were kept. He returned with a small steel pail, and ran to the edge of the creek. He filled it with water.

"Now we just have to put some dirt in there."

"Stroud," Gurnda said, still twirling the flower, "you have way too much water in there. It'll overflow."

Stroud ignored his brother and picked up clods of dirt and threw them in the bucket, getting himself covered in mud. As he placed the mud in the bucket, sure enough, the water began to overflow. Stroud ignored the overflowing pail and continued filling to the top with dirt.

Once the bucket was full, he turned it upside down and slammed it into the ground. Slowly, he lifted it up. It was perfect!

He removed the bucket completely. The mudcastle collapsed.

"Awww," Stroud whined. He stared at the goopy mudpuddle.

"I told you you put too much water in the bucket, but would you listen to me? Noooo," Gurnda scolded. "Now it just looks like a big pile of poo."

Stroud laughed. "It does, doesn't it?" he giggled, excitedly. "I'll go make more poo!" He ran to the creek and filled the bucket up again.

"No, Stroud, you're going to make a mess!" Again, the five-year-old ignored Gurnda, and returned with another bucketful of water, which he quickly scooped dirt into.

"Poo, poo, poo..." sang Stroud happily.

Gurnda found himself laughing. He set down the flower and grabbed a fistful of mud and flung it into the creek. "Poo!"

Stroud laughed with delight and flipped the bucket again, pouring more mud onto the ground. "More poo!" he cried, running to get more water. He turned to Gurnda, who was still throwing the mud into the water. "Don't throw it all away! I want to make a poo fortress!"

Gurnda grabbed a big glob of mud and hurled it into the water, yelling at the top of his lungs, "POOOO!"

Stroud laughed so hard that he fell into the water, getting himself covered in mud. He didn't seem to mind, though; he continued giggling and filling the bucket.

The next hurled glob of mud hit Stroud in the head. "POO!"

"Hey!" Stroud threw the bucket of water at Gurnda. It hit him in the chest.

"Ow!" Gurnda grabbed a fistful of mud and heaved it at Stroud. "Now you're covered in poo!"

Stroud lifted a clump of the dirt off the ground and threw it at his brother. "Poo!"

Gurnda flung another clod of mud. "Poo!"

"Poo!" Fling.

"POO!" Fling.

"POOOOO!" Fling.

Both boys were hysterical; mud clung to their clothes and hair. Stroud had clumps of mud in both hands, and threw them simultaneously at his brother. "Double poo!"

Gurnda made a mudbomb and threw it at Stroud. "Poo grenade!"

-

Lord Granz had hardly reached Medusa's bedside when loud, delighted shrieks began to reach their ears.

_"Poo!"_

Medusa giggled. "Boys."

Granz listened to the boys' poo-filled conversation. "What an..._enlightening_ discussion our sons are having."

Medusa laughed. "They're boys, Granz. Surely you discussed such things as a child."

"Never! I was a very clean-mouthed child!" Granz said. That wasn't exactly true; he could recall several conversations that he'd had with his friends about various types of excretions.

"I'm sure you were, Granz. I'm sure you were a model child." Medusa leaned up and planted a soft kiss on his lips. The boys' cries started again.

_"POO!"_

_"POOOOO!"_

Medusa burst out laughing, but the laughing quickly degraded into ill coughing.

Granz, in a panic, tried to calm his wife down. "It's okay, just stop laughing...it's making you sicker!"

"No, Granz, I need to laugh once in a while. It's fine."

"I can't let them make you sicker!" he said, and left her bedside once again to discipline the two boys.

"Oh, Granz," she said, amused and angry at the same time. "_Boys_..."

-

The boys were still slinging mud at each other when Granz stormed outside.

"You two!"

The two boys looked up at their angry father with mud-covered faces. Granz gaped at them.

"What have you two _done_?" he growled angrily. "Look at yourselves! You're covered in mud!"

"It's _poo_!" Stroud blurted out with a big grin on his face, then covered his mouth. Granz's angry gaze turned to the green-haired boy.

"Excuse _me_?"

"Uh...sorry, pappa?" Gurnda tried. It didn't work.

"Both of you, inside, NOW!" Granz roared. The two boys wasted no time in following their angry father's orders. Gurnda stopped and went back to the creek.

"Gurnda! Inside!"

"Hold on, I'm getting something!" He returned with the purple flower, which now had small flecks of mud on it, then ran after his brother.

"Both of you go up to our room so your mother can see what you've done to yourselves!" Granz ordered. The two boys looked at each other and gulped.

-

Medusa laid in her bed, waiting for her stubborn husband to return.

She heard the door creak open. Gurnda and Stroud entered the room, tracking mud on the rug.

"Boys! What on earth—" Medusa started. Granz interrupted.

"_This_ was the 'poo' ordeal you were hearing," he said, glaring at the two boys. "They were flinging mud at each other!"

Medusa looked at the boys, not angry with them, but not pleased, either. "Gurnda, Stroud, I thought you knew better. Especially you, Gurnda. You're a big boy!"

"So am I!" Stroud protested, puffing himself up to appear bigger. Gurnda looked to be on the verge of tears at his mother's criticism. He approached his mother's bedside and pulled the flower out from behind his back.

"I picked it for you, mamma," he said softly. "I thought you might like it."

Medusa stared at the flower, then looked at her son. "Why, thank you, Gurnda," she said, hugging the mud-covered boy.

Gurnda hugged her back. "I'm sorry I made you mad, mamma."

"Oh, honey. I'm not mad, just a little upset that you got yourself so dirty." _How can one stay mad at such a sweet boy?_ Medusa thought.

"I'm sorry too, mommy," Stroud said, approaching his mother and hugging her, too.

"Oh, it's okay, both of you. Now go and get yourselves cleaned up! Looks like I'll have to bathe, as well..." she added, looking at her mud-covered arms.

The two boys ran off to obey their mother. Granz looked at her incredulously.

"You just let them off like that?" he asked, amazed.

Medusa gazed at her flower, given to her with so much love. "How can I stay mad at them, Granz? They're just boys. They'll be silly. I can't be mad at them for doing what's natural. It would be like getting mad at a bird for singing..."

* * *


End file.
